After surrendering your body, possessions and soul to the jnana-Guru, to regard any of them as ‘I’ or ‘mine’ is to commit the sin of stealing back what has been given away as a gift. You should know that avoiding this fault is the authentic worship of the Sadguru.
V-317, Guru Vachaka Kovai
The same verse translated and printed in the Diary, 2011, Sri Ramanasramam, is as follows :
“Why do you still retain the attachment to the mental concepts of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ when, you have already offered up all those things to your Guru ?“
So after surrender, regarding this body as ‘I’ and anything as ‘mine’ is to commit the sin of stealing back what has been given away as a gift.
Just below this verse in Sri David Godman edited version of the Guru Vachaka Kovai,
There are three statements of Sri Bhagwan which the ‘note’ at the bottom assigns as vv. 14,15, 16 of the Padamalai.
Sri Bhagwan :” If you completely surrender all your responsibilities to me, I will accept them as mine and manage them.
When bearing the entire burden remains my responsibility, why do you have any worries?
Why do you still retain this attachment to the mental concepts of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ when, on that day, you had offered up all those things to me, avowing them to be mine ?”
It is not only a sin to try to steal back what has been offered to the Guru as a gift, even in worldly order of things, it is preposterous to do so. Isn’t it ?
Thank You,
Anil